บท 17: Turn for a Glance, Turn It Pink

บรรณาธิการ: Chrissy

After the 720 case, Xiang Wan would subconsciously feel nervous to any sudden sound she heard.

Her hair stood on end at that instant. One second later, she realized that this place was Bai Muchuan's house.

The sound that came from the door—it was indeed Bai Muchuan.

She took a look at her phone and discovered the call had disconnected. Xiang Wan puffed a sigh and opened the door.

Bai Muchuan stood at the door. He was preparing to knock once again when the door suddenly opened. His hand had nearly knocked on Xiang Wan's forehead with a one centimeter distance.

The atmosphere was stagnant for a moment.

The man who suddenly appeared at the door had a casual look and shallow gaze. His long eyelashes had a touch of backlit silhouette, which made his three-dimensional features even more well-defined.

At that moment, Xiang Wan was shocked by the sight before her. She felt an intense amount of stress with that hand that almost hit her forehead!

"Detective Bai…"

"Let's go!" Bai Muchuan put down his hand slowly as he looked at her pair of expressive eyes and turned away quickly.

Eh?! Xiang Wan turned to take a look at her laptop on the bed and followed hesitantly. "Where are you taking me?"

Bai Muchuan said, "Giving you a chance."

His words were as simple and able as him. The level of coolness was extremely high.

Xiang Wan was actually a very independent woman. She was not the type of girl that behaved totally like a rabbit. However, when an apathetic, tsundere big bad wolf was before her, besides being docile and obedient all the time, she really had no way to overshadow his imposing manner and gain control of the situation.

Nanny Li saw them walking downstairs one after another and was slightly surprised.

"Young Master Bai, are both of you going out now?"

"Yes."

"The meal will be ready soon, why not go after some food?"

Bai Muchuan replied without turning his head, "It's urgent!"

Nanny Li responded with an "oh" and kept her mouth shut. Bai Lu, who was busy in the kitchen, rushed out and managed to stop Bai Muchuan at the entrance of the garage.

"Little uncle, where are you going again?"

Bai Muchuan was taking out the keys to open the garage. He looked up and responded, "Work." Then, he continued to do what he was doing.

Bai Lu's slender eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. "Before I came, grandma and mom have specially instructed me to take care of you that you don't work too hard and make sure you eat and sleep on time…"

Hah!

Xiang Wan almost laughed out loud when she heard that!

This is a really naive, pure, and lovely young girl who knew nothing about the harsh realities of the world.

The work life of a detective is so demanding. How could it be possible to eat and sleep on time?

Bai Muchuan didn't utter a reply. He went ahead to open the car door and sat on the driver's seat. He motioned Xiang Wan with a gaze to get into the car.

Xiang Wan opened the door of the front passenger seat, all ready to get in when Bai Lu grabbed the door from Xiang Wan and blocked her from entering. Then she started to behave like a spoiled child when facing Bai Muchuan.

"I want to go too! Little uncle, I've been given the task of taking care of you by overseeing what you do."

Bai Muchuan started to get impatient. "I'm going to work."

Disbelief was evident in Bai Lu's face. She glanced at Xiang Wan who was standing awkwardly aside. "What 'bout her? Is she accompanying you to work?"

Bai Muchuan leaned back on his seat and did not bother to explain. He just spoke loudly, "Go back!"

"I won't!" Bai Lu was unhappy as she got reprimanded by him in front of Xiang Wan. She pouted her little pink mouth and tears started to form in her eyes. However, she endured the urge to cry.

Bang! Instead of leaving, she hopped inside the car and closed the door heavily.

That loud sound felt as though Bai Lu was venting her anger. That made Xiang Wan even more uncomfortable.

The uncle and niece were fighting. She was just an outsider, and she couldn't just leave like that. But, standing here like this was awkward for her as well…

She was at a loss when she heard a cold voice coming from the car. "Get down!"

Bai Lu turned to look at Bai Muchuan. "You're shouting at me? You're actually shouting at me?

Bai Muchuan looked stern. "If you continue to behave like this, it's equivalent to obstructing official business! Do you believe I'll charge you for that?"

Bai Lu was 17 years old and more or less knew some legal knowledge. When Bai Muchuan said she was hindering him from carrying out his duties, his face had also gradually darkened and had yelled at her sternly. No matter how daring she was, she daren't continue to be wilful.

"Boo-hoo…"

Her mouth twitched twice as she pushed the door open in embarrassment. She also "conveniently" pushed Xiang Wan before running back to the house in tears.

Xiang Wan only managed to keep her balance after being pushed by taking two steps back.

Holy sh*t!

She cussed inside but remained calm outside. "Detective Bai's little niece sure has character."

Bai Muchuan's eyebrows were closely knitted together. "My apologies!"

Is this an apology?

Xiang Wan tilted her head to look at him and got on the car. She was not too bothered by that episode earlier.

"It's alright. I'm very accomodating. I've never argued with little girls."

She said that with a poker face. Bai Muchuan shot a glance at her as his nose seemed to make a snort as he started the car.

…

It was 11 a.m. in the morning.

The sunlight after the rain fell on the land of Jin City with a leisurely feel.

Outside the window, it looked misty with brightness, freshness, and a little warmth.

Xiang Wan didn't know where Bai Muchuan was taking her. Watching the car doing numerous turns—left and right, here and there into the streets—she felt like a loach sliding with the flow of traffic and started to feel sleepy as time passed.

When one was not talking, not thinking, and was looking at monotonous, simple things—it was the most sleep-inducing experience.

She closed her eyes unconsciously and leaned her head against the seat.

Xiang Wan had a nice sleep posture and was well-behaved when she fell asleep. Her fair face was a peach blossom shade under the clear day. Her eyelashes moved similarly like a tiny fan, and she also had a small, slightly upturned nose that was breathing steadily. A light pink shade of lipstick was applied on her ample and slightly pouting lips. It looked like an exceptionally sweet and tempting fruit jelly, eliciting the desire to taste it.

…

Bai Muchuan lowered his eyes, and glanced sideways.

After taking a glance at her, his eyes went back to the road.

…

Five minutes later.

Bai Muchuan glanced at her by turning his head again.

After taking a glance, his eyes went back to the road.

…

Ten minutes later.

Bai Muchuan glanced at her again.

After taking a glance, his eyes went back to the road when he suddenly slammed on the brakes!

Scccreeech!

The car screeched to a halt piercingly, accompanied by the loud swearing of a car driver. Xiang Wan was startled and was awakened from her sweet dreams.

Xiang Wan felt a sudden squeeze in her heart as she opened her eyes abruptly and found that the driver who was swearing out of reflex, quickly drove away after realizing that he had encountered a detective. She turned to look at Bai Muchuan, baffled by the sight.

"What's going on? Is there another person…"

"It's nothing, we're about to arrive!" replied Bai Muchuan with a sullen looking face and said nothing more.

Xiang Wan gave a yawn. She was fully awake now, just perplexed about what happened earlier.

Soon enough, the car stopped in its destination.

Xiang Wan was familiar with this place—it was the Criminal Investigation Unit.

Only then did she know what Detective Bai had meant by "giving her a chance".

He brought her to look through the case files of the 720 case, starting from scratch. He also took her to the archives room where he retrieved a case dated six years ago.

… Xu Zhaodi's traffic accident.

… Xu Zhaodi is Mrs. Zhao's maiden name.

In that traffic accident, Mrs. Zhao was half-paralyzed due to a car accident and was unable to conceive forever.

"This two cases, are they related?" Xiang Wan felt a little confused.

Except for the husband and wife relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Zhao, ain't these two cases independent?

The driver who caused the traffic accident was Mrs. Zhao's own chauffeur.

At that time, Mrs. Zhao's chauffeur had occupied the bus route and was driving behind a bus. When the bus in front suddenly pulled the brakes, they collided onto the rear of that bus—they were sandwiched right after as they were hit by the bus behind them.

The driver was killed on the spot. Xiang Wan thought it was instant retribution.

However, the Xu family did not want to close the case as a traffic accident. They insisted that this was a case of a planned and deliberate murder.

At that time, the traffic police passed over the case to the Criminal Investigation Unit. Nevertheless, the final verdict was still a traffic accident.

"You don't have any other thoughts about this?" Bai Muchuan's eyes seemed to be analyzing her. "The mystery and romance fiction novel… Expert!"

Expert? My foot! Xiang Wan's ears seemed to start burning.

But being a naturally curious person, she flipped through the dust-laden file with great interest. She was so absorbed that she was unaware that it was meal time as she did not feel hungry at all.

"… If I were to make up a story, I certainly have a lot of ideas." Her eyes met with Bai Muchuan's. "But I don't understand why you want me to see this?"

Bai Muchuan's hand propped on his forehead, "Who is the one who said that she wanted to familiarize herself with real cases and write a good mystery fiction with quality and standard?"

Yeah, she did say that!

However, their relationship were not close enough for him to do that?

Xiang Wan narrowed her eyes. This time, she surveyed him and suddenly smiled.

"I understand now. Your press conference was forced by the higher-ups, as the police needed to give the public an account of what had happened. However, in your heart, you didn't approve of that result. Although this seemingly conclusive criminal could be what everyone needs, the case is still far from the truth that you have been seeking. Coincidentally, as I held the same opinion as you, you think that I might be of help to you?"

Bai Muchuan's eyes was flashing with cold light.

He did not answer her, but threw her a question instead.

"Did you study law in Zhong Zheng?"

Sh*t! You even know about this? Looks like they really investigated her inside out.

Xiang Wan felt a chilly feeling at her back. Inside her head, she was silently telling herself that she should never look for a police officer to be her boyfriend. Otherwise, there would be no privacy to speak of.

"Yes." She smiled somewhat awkwardly.

"Why didn't you become a lawyer or other related professions but went ahead to become an author?"

Writing a mystery fiction was also related to her major, alright?

Xiang Wan had wanted to answer that, but he had asked her very seriously… like he was interrogating a criminal.

Hence, she answered truthfully, "I… never graduated!"

Bai Muchuan kept looking at her intently. "Why?"

Xiang Wan looked peeved. "Is this related to the case?"

Her unhappy face was reflected in Bai Muchuan's eyes, but he did not let her off like that. He continued to glare at her aggressively.

The archives room was very cold. The air-conditioning must have been switched to full blast.

Both of them stared at each other. Xiang Wan's heart was pounding away. Just when she felt that she couldn't stand being stared at anymore…

Bai Muchuan suddenly stood up from his chair.

"Let's go and visit this victim together!"